General Motors-SAIC to develop new range of 3 cylinder turbo petrol engines

The three cylinder turbo petrol engine brigade seems to be all set to get many more entrants as General Motors is collaborating with its Chinese partner SAIC to develop a new range of highly efficient and powerful turbo petrol engines in triple cylinder configurations. GM-SAIC plan to develop three cylinder turbo petrol engines in capacities of 1.2 Liters, 1.4 Liters and 1.5 Liters. The underlying reason for a three cylinder engine layout to be the inherent fuel economy that triple potters bring to the equation. Also turbocharging them will make them powerful and torquey while also cutting down on tailpipe emissions to a large extent.

The 2013 Opel Adam Hatchback is one of the cars that is expected to get the 1.2 Liter, 3 cylinder turbo petrol engine developed by GM-SAIC

Car makers across the world are betting big on turbo petrol engine technology and in recent times, many three cylinder turbo petrol engines have been announced. While Ford produces the highly acclaimed 1 Liter, Ecoboost turbo petrol engine, Renault has its very own version with a 900cc capacity. German Luxury car maker BMW also has triple cylinder turbocharged petrol and diesel engines that will power its future range of entry level models. So, the three cylinder engine brigade, replete with forced induction seems to be growing steadily.

General Motors does have its own range of turbo petrol engines called the EcoTec range. These engines also come with direct injection. However, the GM-SAIC partnership which will develop the new range of turbo petrol engines will focus on three cylinder units. Expect direct injection to also be added to the new range of engines as this is one technology that gives good gains in both power as well as fuel economy. These engines are expected to power both GM as well SAIC cars in the future such as the Chevrolet Cruze. Currently, GM does have a 1.4 Liter, 138 Bhp EcoTec four cylinder engine that powers the Cruze.

The new range could also be used on smaller cars in General Motors’ range given the small capacity of the new crop of engines. Rumoredly, these light weight engines could be mated to dual clutch automatic transmissions. For now, that’s pretty much the information emerging about the new range of engines that GM and SAIC are jointly developing. Expect one of these engines to arrive into the engine bay of one of the many cars that the American car maker sells in India as well given the fact that the tribe of turbo petrol engines is slowly albeit steadily increasing even in the budget car segments.

Via SohuAuto